Saving Stella
by jeffsgoldenbloom
Summary: So this is my first fanfic so go easy on me with the reviews and what not :  This story is about Mac and Stella..I don't know what else to say since this is my first summary :-  Read away and enjoy!


The gruff "we're here" of the cab driver snapped Stella out of her slumber. She finally was back in New York after going undercover for the past 3 weeks. She had been trying to gain information from a potential suspect in a case involving a particularly sadistic serial killer. She had gone Upstate as a "freelance journalist" trying to gain information about the local lifestyle, when really she was trying to get info on the case that she and Mac were working on. The cab pulled up in front of Mac's apartment and she got out of the cab and paid and thanked the driver. She pulled her suitcase out of the cab from the seat next to her with considerable effort.

"Ya sure you got's it?" the cabbie asked, quite surprised that such a small bag could cause so much trouble.

"Yes, I'm fine", Stella said, as she tried not to aggravate herself even more. While she was away, she had wound up in a real "life or death" situation. She got too close to blowing her cover with one of the potential suspects, which he found out anyways and decided to unleash his anger on her. She had almost been beaten within an inch of her life, but luckily it was relatively close to the beginning of her mission, so she had healed up pretty much, except for the array of bruises that covered her back, and the broken ribs. She couldn't go to the hospital, because she couldn't use her real name as an undercover. She tried her best to nurse her wounds at her hotel room, but that couldn't heal the internal injuries. She reminded herself that she had to look normal taking her suitcase up to Mac's apartment and not give in to the pain. She put up her strong wall of protection and went inside the apartment building. She looked around to make sure no one she knew was there. She didn't feel like stopping to talk to anyone. She just wanted to get straight up to Mac's so she could get some Aleve. She headed for the elevator and sighed and wiped off the light covering of sweat that had begun to spread over her forehead. The pain was making her dizzy, and she prayed she could make it to the bed without Mac becoming suspicious. It was one thing for him to be constantly working non-stop without proper sleep, but for her to be hurt and having him worry about her on top of work was another thing. She was shaken from her silent musings as the "ding" of the elevator told her that she was at Mac's floor. She exited the elevator and walked down the hall to Mac's room. She wanted to surprise him, so she hadn't called when her flight arrived. Stella knew Mac was off work that day, so she planned to show up unexpectedly. She arrived at his door, and knocked with expectation.  
She waited for about a couple of seconds before she heard his wonderful voice. "Coming!" he said. She was so eager to get to the painkillers that she didn't notice Mac open the door. "Stella!" he said excitedly, as he grabbed her from her reverie outside the door and pulled her into a bone-crunching hug. Unbeknownst to Mac, Stella already had bones that were crunched. It took everything in Stella's will-power not to cry out in pain. She returned the hug and pulled back to look at Mac's face and placed a soul-searing kiss on his lips. The kiss deepened and Mac pressed his hands into Stella's back. She moaned out into Mac's mouth and he recognized her moan as one of pain not pleasure.

"What's wrong?" he frantically asked, eyes scanning her face for some explanation.

"Nothing, I just have a really bad head ache, and I missed you. It's not a good combination for a hormonal woman." Mac just smiled and kissed her forehead as he breathed in her scent.

"I missed you too Stell", he replied, as a huge grin spread across his face. Stella looked back to where her suitcase was and said, "Could you get that for me? I'm just going to get some Aleve or something and go lie down 'cause I am really tired."

"You sure you're okay Stella?" Mac asked.

"Yep," Stella replied as cheerfully as possible, "I'm just really tired, you know?"

"Okay", Mac replied with a kind smile of his face. As soon as Stella left the room and made her way to Mac's kitchen, she released the breath she had been holding. Her two broken ribs had been throbbing, and with the combination of the bruises across her back, she didn't know how long she would hold up. She quickly found a cup of water and walked into the bedroom and set it on the nightstand. She opened one of Mac's drawers, and found an old t-shirt of his that she liked wearing. She went into the bathroom and closed the door. As she removed her clothing, she caught a glimpse of her battered body in the mirror. The swelling of her ribs left a mean purple bruise on the left side of her olive skin. She turned around so that her back was facing the mirror, and looked over her shoulder. It looked as if she had been hit by a car. Stella fought the urge to cry and turned around and lightly pressed her hand onto her broken ribs. She tried to assess the damage. The pain was almost unbearable and she almost passed out from it. She quickly put on Mac's t-shirt and grabbed the pain medication from Mac's cabinet. She went back into the bedroom and took the Aleve with the glass of water that she had left on the nightstand. She then turned off the lights and crawled into the bed. Mac crawled into the bed next to her almost an hour later. He scooted over behind her and put his arms around her waist.

Stella awoke to Mac pulling her back to him in the bed. Normally, she wouldn't have a problem with this, but she was in terrible pain this time and tried to pull away, pretending to be asleep. This only prompted Mac to pull tighter, leaving Stella with no choice but to play along. She waited till she knew Mac was asleep and slowly tried to ease her way out of the bed. She only got a couple of feet from the bed when the pain became too much to bear and she collapsed on the floor next to the foot of the bed. Her attempts to get to the living room had failed and she held her midsection as a few small tears escaped her eyes. She couldn't sob and wake Mac up, she just couldn't. She had to be strong. Mac stirred after he felt Stella's warmth leave his side in the bed. He shrugged it off as her getting up to use the bathroom that was until he heard a thud and slight sniffles. "Stella!" he exclaimed as he shot up and turned on the light next to the bed. He looked around and didn't see her, but as he got out of the bed, he saw her huddled, trembling form lying on the floor by his bed. She looked as if she were in great pain.

"Stella what's wrong?" he asked as his eyes scanned over her form.

"M-m-my-it hurts-please!" She said, in-between sobs. Mac's eyes looked down to where her hands were clutched, and he lifted up her shirt only to be met with a sight that was almost too much for him to bear. His heart felt as if it had been ripped in two when he saw her mean, swollen side where her two ribs had been broken.

"Stella, why didn't you tell me sooner?" he asked, exasperated.

"I-I didn't want you to worry", she said, as more sobs escaped her mouth. Mac got up in a flash to grab his phone from where it was charging and called 911. He quickly explained the situation, and how Stella was undercover and suffered a serious beating, and didn't seek medical attention as soon as she should have. Mac then went back to Stella who was now turning pale.

"Stella? Stell? Stay with me!" He shouted as he felt her neck to see if she still had a pulse. Thankfully, she did, even though her breathing had become very shallow. All he could do was cup her face, and tell her to stay with him until help arrived.

The paramedics arrived shortly, and all Mac could do was watch as they loaded her onto a gurney and hooked her up to an oxygen mask. Mac grabbed his jacket off the chest at the end of his bed, and turned to his nightstand to grab his keys and his cell phone. He hurriedly locked his door and followed the paramedics downstairs as they took Stella to the ambulance. Once they arrived at the hospital, Stella was unloaded and taken straight into a room in the ER. All Mac could do was stand as near to Stella as he could without getting in the Doctors' way and hope that Stella would be alright. He silently cursed himself for not noticing that something was wrong sooner. A nurse came in to change Stella into a hospital gown, and when she rolled Stella over on her side to tie the gown in the back, Mac's heart nearly broke. He saw the ugly purple bruises forming on her back where she had been kicked. He felt tears welling up in his throat and he had to turn to look out the window for a moment before he lost himself.

"I-I d-d-d-didn't know about those bruises", Mac choked out to the nurse.

"Really?" the nurse replied. "We'll have the doctor come in and check to make sure nothing else is broken, but for now I can increase her pain medication."

"Th-thank you", Mac replied. Mac pulled up a chair next to Stella's bedside and held her hand. He stared at her as she slept peacefully, and could only think about what would have happened if she never told him what had happened. He stared at her perfectly shaped face, mouth, eyes, nose, and before he realized it, he felt tears trickling down his face. He buried his head on the bed next to Stella's hand and started to sob quietly.

Stella woke up to the feeling of something heavy on her hand. She moved it a bit and saw Mac fast asleep on her hospital bed. She lifted her hand to run it through his dark hair and he stirred. "Oh you're awake!" Mac exclaimed.

"Yep. I'm kinda sore," said Stella, "but I'm ready to leave."

"We'll see what the doctor says," Mac replied. By the end of the day, Stella had been released and put under doctors orders that she stay in the bed for the rest of the evening and not to attempt anything too strenuous for the rest of the week. Mac had given Stella the bed to herself, so she would be more comfortable. Mac lounged on the couch, flipping through the TV channels, not really able to find anything he liked when he heard Stella call out "M-Mac? Mac?" He immediately jumped up from where he was and rushed to the bedroom.

"What, what is it?" Mac asked frantically, "are you in any pain?"

"No," Stella replied, "I just had a nightmare, and wanted you to sleep with me. I'm scared."

"Stella, no one is going to hurt you here. I just don't want to cause your body any pain," Mac replied.

"It's fine Mac, the painkillers are working," Stella uttered. Mac slowly eased himself onto the bed behind Stella and kissed her neck.

"Do you know how much I love you?" Mac whispered into the skin behind her ear. "I love you so much, that if I loved you any more, my heart would burst."

"I love you too Mac." Stella replied, smiling to herself in the dark. "I love you so very much Mac." At this, Mac rose up a bit so he could taste her lips, and then lay back down.

"I'm not going to let anything like this happen to you ever again, OK?"

"Thanks Mac" Stella replied. They feel asleep in each other's arms shortly after, exhausted by the events that took place in the last 24 hours.


End file.
